Monday, May 3, 2010

Introduction: The Harlem Renaissance was an African-American artistic movement that occurred in the years between WWI and The Great Depression. This social movement was spurred by a large-scale migration of African-Americans from rural areas in the South to cities in the North. Your task is to carefully examine a series of websites pertaining to the Harlem Renaissance and explore the characteristics, qualities, and people that impacted the Harlem Renaissance.

Directions: Webquest will teach you how to acquire information about the Harlem Renaissance from informative websites and apply this new knowledge in the creation of documentaries that demonstrate your learning on the subject. Go first to the "Links and Scaffolding Questions" post and click on each link. Then, individually answer the scaffolding questions for each website that is linked. Scaffolds help construction workers reach higher levels of tall buildings and, in a similar way, scaffolding questions should help you reach higher levels of understanding of the topic being discussed. Notice that there are four different categories of websites, Dance, Music, Literature, and Art of the Harlem Renaissance. Take special care to answer the questions carefully because the answers to these questions will be the foundation to the documentary videos you will create in groups. The "Documentary Video" post will explain that aspect of the webquest, this video will be the final part of the webquest and a culmination of everything that you have learned.

- During the time period, the social movement we now call the Harlem Renaissance was called the "New Negro Movement" why do you think this name was recognized as appropriate?

- Consider the changes in America between the end of the Civil War and the start of WW II, why is it that many African-Americans were actively trying to define what it meant to be both "African" and "American"?

- This website has several Harlem Renaissance experts that try to answer the question "The art of the Harlem Renaissance seems overwhelmingly optimistic, despite the fact that Harlem was already in a state of economic decline and many African-American performers were not embraced by mainstream America. Why?" Read the answers the experts provide and describe in your own words why you think Harlem Renaissance Art was so often optimistic rather than pessimistic.

-Imagine yourself as an African-American living in Harlem during this era. Do you think you would be excited and optimistic despite the many challenges you would experience?

- The two above websites show and describe two different paintings done by the same artist, Archibald J. Motley Jr, about 15 years apart. Why do you think the subject matter and style of his art changed so much?

--Describe the transformation from the "Old Negro" to the "New Negro". Which significant works/writers during the Harlem Renaissance would you say influenced or contributed to this transformation?http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A32779164

-- How was Hughes poetry different than any other poetry of the time? Read the excerpt of the poem The Weary Blues. How is this poem Jazz poetry?

-- Why did Hughes feel like he slept in "ten thousand beds?" Do you think his childhood effected his poetry?

Now is time for the fun part! Your probably have a personal preference or particular interest in one of the four categories introduced in the Links and Scaffolding Questions section. Though you were required to look at the links and answer questions for all four categories. You now have an opportunity to choose which of the four categories you would like to participate in creating a documentary video. Look at the links below for information on the basics of using a Flip Camcorder (one will be provided for each group to use), creating a documentary and some examples of short documentaries. How your group chooses to design your documentary is completely up to you! Creativity, personal interpretations, and using your previous understandings of history are encouraged. You will be graded on the degree to which you have brought together the information from the websites linked in the webquest, degree of organization, and original conclusions.